**7**
I held popcorn in my left hand and soda in my right, grinning. “This is the first movie I’ve ever invested in, and I guided it from start to finish! Of course, I’m happy!”
The happiest moment would be when the movie scored below a three, had a Rotten Tomatoes score over 99%, and its box office was so disastrous it got pulled.
“Don’t show your teeth when you smile.”
My boss, sitting next to me, commented.
I quickly shut my mouth.
<
1051 Thu, 3 Jul do
<100%
My old face felt a little hot.
The cinema lights dimmed, plunging us into temporary darkness.
In that darkness, Damon’s voice softly drifted over: “Actually, your smile is quite
beautiful.”
The huge screen lit up.
I looked at him in surprise, but he was already looking straight ahead, observing the big
screen intently.
As if the person who spoke just now wasn’t him.
Ugh, that prim and proper look.
I must have been overthinking it.
The movie started.
I excitedly tugged on my boss’s arm. “It’s starting, it’s starting! This movie has my heart and soul poured into it. Look, I even got tanned like a dried fish from supervising the set!”
Damon didn’t pull his hand away. Instead, his gaze softened as he looked at me.
“Yes, you poured your heart and soul into making this movie even worse. You worked
hard.”
Me: “…”
Boss, I did this all for you!
If this movie didn’t lose money, you wouldn’t be able to inherit your grandfather’s
company.
I knew what was more important.
“Aren’t you afraid of being criticized?”
<
10:51 Thu, 3 Jul, mo
Damon quietly asked me.
I shook my head. “No.”
“Hm?”
100%
He raised an eyebrow.
I giggled. “Let them criticize! It’s not like it’ll take a chunk out of me, right?”
Damon looked at me quietly. “I actually admire your nonchalance.”
This wasn’t nonchalance; it was a Zen–like acceptance, or to use a more modern term,
pure apathy.
“Boss, you gave me half a billion and told me to spend, spend, spend. How could I *not* be nonchalant? Thank you for letting me experience the life of a rich person. Even if it’s brief, I’m completely satisfied.”
In that one month, I’d enjoyed everything I could, settled scores, and even played the role
of a boss myself.
Life was complete.
Damon quietly said, “If there was a chance for you to live a rich life forever, would you
want it?”
I was surprised. “Is there such a good thing? Boss, tell me, tell me! What chance?”
Damon pursed his lips, muttered “Idiot,” and turned his head to watch the movie.
He wouldn’t tell me how to get rich and then call me an idiot.
Stingy boss.
I patiently watched the entire movie.
After it ended, I asked Damon, “Boss, how do you feel?”
He looked at me with an unreadable expression. “If you ever quit working for me, please,
for the love of God, stay away from the film industry. You’re pure poison.”
I felt relieved.
A group of audience members also left the cinema, grumbling about wasted ticket
money.
“Boss, now I’m going to lose every penny!”
My smile broadened.
“You didn’t have any pennies to begin with.”
My boss smiled at me, then took long strides and walked out first.
I had expected this movie to be cursed out of existence and pulled from theaters.
But…
Watching the daily skyrocketing box office and positive reviews, I was so anxious I almost pulled out all my hair.
Now, the daily box office was growing exponentially, already heading towards a billion
dollars.
A billion meant I had already recouped my costs.
I clutched my phone, wanting to cry. “Are people blind? How can they keep flocking to
see such a bad movie?”
Chloe analyzed the reasons for me.
“First, there haven’t been any major foreign films imported recently, so this movie is standing out.”
“Then, it’s summer break now, so there are more kids off school.”
“And honestly, don’t you think this movie is actually pretty good?”
10:51 Thu, 3 Ju
<
33
Chloe was excited.
Me: “…”
100%
Good in what way?
Damon and I decided we needed to wash our eyes out after watching it!
“This movie has several unique features. One is the special effects. Don’t you think they have a vintage CGI feel, like some old fantasy movie? It probably brought back childhood memories for a lot of people.”
“And also, the male and female leads don’t use professional voice actors; they use their own voices with regional accents. It’s very down–to–earth and quite amusing!”
“Oh, and the plot is hilariously bizarre and completely unpredictable! Like how the male lead says he’d rather die than tell the bad guys where the female lead is hidden, but then he immediately goes to find her…”
My eyes welled up with tears. “Please stop. Just let me have some peace.”
I went and looked at the comments.
Among tens of thousands of comments, the general consensus was that while this movie was bad, it was bad in a refreshing and unique way.
1
One comment read: “How to describe this movie? It’s like mixing the weirdest ingredients – durian, stinky tofu, fermented fish in one pot, and somehow, it turned into a unique delicacy.”
A delicacy?
My smile was uglier than a cry.
I watched helplessly as the box office climbed from one billion to one and a half billion, then two billion, then four and a half billion…
Chloe screamed in my ear every day, “Riley! You’re going to be rich!”
<
10:57 Thu, 3
ន
My boss gave me half a billion to spend, and I ended up making him tens of billions…
